Adam says: Blockbuster and I are so not together anymore.

So tonight I had this completely unnerving experience at the Westoverhills Blockbuster... needless to say I am no longer a Blockbuster customer, to let you fully understand the situation I figure I should post the complaint email I sent to Blockbuster corporate... and yes I know I may sound a little irrational, but seriously I was ticked... on with the show.

I am a FORMER Blockbuster online customer who really enjoyed the first few months of service I received. The mail service was quick and the in store exchanges were a big plus over Netflix. However, two months ago I was told by the folks at my local Blockbuster (Westoverhills Blockbuster in Richmond VA) that I was limited to three exchanges per month. It seemed that they could not confirm if this was three movies or three trips to exchange (with the possibility of exchanging six movies since I was on the two movie plan.) This was unsettling but I figured it was just one of those things that big companies do to try and make more money for their executives at the expense of the consumer. All of this probably would not have caused me to cancel my subscription, but tonight I ran into the straw that broke the camels back. While going to the Westoverhills Blockbuster in Richmond VA on Forest Hill Ave I ran into Larry. I don't know what Larry's position is at this particular Blockbuster but I do know that Larry is a total jerk with a real attitude. When I stepped up to the counter to exchange my movie for another movie (Rescue Dawn starring Christian Bale) I was being attended to by a nice lady whom I have had the pleasure of dealing with several times at this Blockbuster, until... Larry screamed at her from across the store to come to another counter and "do this." When the woman who was waiting on me turned to emphasize the fact that she was waiting on a customer at that moment Larry yelled back that she needed to come there now and he would wait on me; I should add that at no point was Larry polite in this conversation, rather he seemed to make it a point to be as curt and generally mean as possible. Thought taken aback by this exchange I was not daunted in my mission to exchange my movie. Larry started our exchange in a semi courteous manner; asking how I was doing as he scanned my card. Then he asked me "Did you return something?" To which I said yes. He then went huffing over to the return box to retrieve the two movies I had dropped in as I entered the store, and on returning he gave me a metaphorical finger wag as he told me that I MUST bring the movies to the counter if they are late. The fact that I did not know this was inconsequential to Larry... he was more interested in saving a ten foot trip from the computer to the drop box and back. I may have been able to brush aside this slight but things continued to get worse. Larry then began to quiz me about my name address and phone number; something that had never happened in the year I had visited this store. I assume he wanted to make sure the person giving him a nine year old Blockbuster card was the person who was on the account that card represented, but I would have no clue, all I know is his skills as an interrogator are rather crude. At this point he began scanning the video I was exchanging, and then he stopped abruptly to tell me that I did not have a credit card on my account to secure it. I have no idea what that means. The online service debts my debt card every month and I have never had a problem before this renting movies at any Blockbuster, but for some reason I need to have a credit card to secure my account tonight. When I asked Larry to clarify his declaration that MY problem was that I did not have credit card on my account, all he could tell me was that I need a credit card to secure my account while he shook his head. This was all I could take. I do not know who Larry is (all his name badge said was "Larry") but I do know that Larry has cost Blockbuster my business. I need not remind you that I am the one paying you for a service, and I don't need to put up with such abuse. At this point I told Larry to check in my video and forget the exchange, because it seemed way to complicated for Larry to accomplish that part of my original task. Larry gave me a sarcastic "OKAY" in response and then as I left I told him I would be switching to Netflix and all Larry could say was "Whatever."
This has to be one of the worst customer service experiences I have ever had. If Larry would have dropped the attitude to explain the issue with my account I may have been willing to resolve it, but instead he berated me in front of the other customers in the store. Now he may have been right. Blockbuster may have some policy about securing accounts with credit cards, and if it does I think that is completely lame, but thats not the point, I am not upset about the policy I am upset about the way Larry treated me when all I wanted to do was use the service I pay for every month. I sincerely hope that this villain will be dealt with appropriately by Blockbuster management. I would give you Larry's last name and title, but that was not printed on his name tag so all I can tell you is that Larry is the short, goofy looking, pudgy, balding white man, with a mustache and feminine voice that works at the Westoverhills Blockbuster on Foresthill Ave in Richmond Virginia. Thank you for addressing this issue, and I am sorry that I cannot continue my relationship with your company.

I think it gets the point across...

Adam and Jeremy Say: It's getting to the point where

Jeremy: are you familiar with any old school Jackson 5? i heard they're rendition of "santa claus is comnig to town" on the radio, and i am arguing that it has the earliest hint of hip hop that ive ever heard. michael is talking fast and rhyming along with his brothers, and during that part of the song they are playing a simple bump, bump, ting drum beat.

Adam:You may have a point as far as the mainstream pop radio music is concerned. I am sure you could find other examples that would be way out there, and I am sure there are underground type examples but honestly I cannot think of a pop music example that predates that.

Jeremy:yeah good point, because i have no idea what was on the underground in the 70s...much less the 60s. the jackson 5 really were pop, huh? i didnt tell you that i work with a guy in his early 50s and he played drums for some bands back in the 60s. nobody big, but he was educating me on the british invasion and introduced me to bands like the hollies, the kinks, the animals, etc. pretty interesting stuff.

Adam: yeah the kinks were punk/ metal before those forms of music existed and I really don't get the animals.... have you seen the British invasion cd at bestbuy?

Jeremy: nah.....but jim(the guy i work with) brought in a book called the "the fab british RR invasion of 64". he also has a tape of all this old stuff with performances on ed sullivan and random "music videos" and stuff .its crazy. i thought our generation was weird, man just the clothes they had was wacked. then i got to thinking and i was kinda mad that us americans cant really take credit for much of the rock influence, so i was trying to think of american bands and the only ones i could come up with were :the ramones, bob dylan, the beach boys, and a few others. needless to say, i was disappointed that america couldnt take more credit for inventing R&R....but then again we had elvis and chuck berry.

Adam: Well we definitely have Elvis, and Aerosmith and the Doors and Hendrix and Joplin Plus every jazz and blues legend was American and then there was james brown, chuck berry, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams and the list goes on don't forget we have a lock on the soul r&b funk and hip hop categories so anyone whose influence stems from there is indebted to American artists

Jeremy: hmm...good call. i love rock though, and i can take pride in our R&B/hip hop/jazz credit, but i just wish we had more rock. good call on hendrix and aerosmith, etc....oo what about queen? i suppose you could say we own the market on country and folk legends as well?

Adam: This is why I discredit the Beatles! I mean honestly Rock is just a mash of Americas Music

Jeremy: yeah...can we credit the beatles with influencing pop music and pop culture, but not rock music? the thing is...ask rockers today, and they usually will credit the beatles with influencing their music wont they?

Adam: I never understood that, but then again I never got the beach boys either and everyone thinks they are amazing! I really do think the Beatles have more to do with pop music than rock. I don't know do you hear the influence of the Beatles in SUM 41 because they (like many bands) claim that the Beatles are a huge influence? You know what I know a guy who is all about classic rock in a "how it was done" not just what happend/how it sounded kind of way I could ask him what the deal is. Did the Beatles invent a way of playing music. Because everything I consider Rock now sounds more like Zepplin and the Ramones and Nirvana and at the very least the Rolling Stones and nothing like the beatles... to me the Beatles sound like an upbeat barber shop quartet! and so do the beachboys! Its not like they invented four part harmony! and as far as their instrument playing it was all really white! there were many musicians at the time who were playing stuff twenty times more complicated and difficult! Well lets try an experiment! Project 86 = Rage = Nirvana/NWA =Guns N Roses/ Grandmaster Flash = Sexpistols/ramones/clash/miles "mother fu**ing" Davis/Queen/Led Zepplin = Hendrix/Rolling Stones/Kinks/Smiths = Muddy Waters/BB king/beach boys/beatles = ELVIS!

Jeremy: i like the beach boys because they are fun and yes, they do the the 4 part harmony very well, which i also like. i guess they were really good lookin and playing music people had never really heard at that point. rock, plus a fun melody to sing along with. modern day blink 182. dont the stones claim themselves to be blues? thats what i heard atleast. i like your little equation for rock. ive never thought about the influence that nirvana had on rage...or really any other band for that matter.....one thing i do appreciate about the beatles, is their ability to write a variety of music. i.e. not all their songs a cut beat with a GCDC chord progression with a bridge featuring Em. I like how they have fast and slow songs; rock and folk songs. sound variety was always something big with my dad, and i suppose he has passed the importance to me. right now im streaming eric clapton and b.b. king. its pretty wicked.

Adam: Yeah I think thats a personality flaw on my part... One: While my interests in music vary pretty widely my tastes are pretty narrow. Two: When I start groovin’ on a band, I get into a stage where thats all I want to listen to... i.e. I'll listen to Blindside for a week and rap for a day and I'll buy three folk albums in a row. Still I think the flaw in rock music is its simplicity, I think if you can make complicated music that sounds rich and easy at the same time, that is when you would create great music!

Adam and Jeremy Say: Life; Yeah It's Real

I have come across a new emotion... Home Owner Melancholy. What is this emotion you ask? It is the blah attitude created from the inane repetition of home chores combined with the actual financial burden of home ownership. I am not just talking about the mortgage payment... I am talking about insurance, furniture, paint, lawn care, trash cans, Internet access, and the rest. It ain't cheap... in fact when I think about it... its crazy! Sure they tell me its a great investment, but guess what when your life is over that investment isn't worth a thing to you... so I am sure that my current state of melancholy is deeper seeded than just the pressing needs of my house, but for now that is what I am blaming it on... and for now my advice... Don't ever buy a house... don't even rent... just sleep on your friends couches until your forty, and then figure it out from there.

Frank TV promos - Frank Caliendo's TV show - Starts Nov 20

Here are some promo clips for a new show that premiered this past week on TBS. I honestly was a little curiuos, but not really planning on watching because it comes on at 11pm, but he happened to be on Mike and Mike in the morning that same day, and he was hilarious.
So I tuned in and the show was also good, but I think he may just be funnier by himself going from impression to impression.
Anywho, see for yourself.
Nevertheless, I still plan on tuning in.

Adam and Jeremy Say: Sports Update!

So I was scrolling through the channels yesterday afternoon to see which NFL games were being carried in our area, and stumbled across the MLS 2007 Cup. That's right, even though Adam and Jeremy are big soccer fans, even I did not know the championship was being aired yesterday. I knew they were in the playoffs, but....oh well, shows how much we care about the MLS. Anywho, The Houston Dynamo repeated this year beating the same new England Revolution to win the league. It was actually fairly exciting from the last 10 minutes that I saw.

In other sports news, Jimmy Johnson also repeated as the NASCAR Nextel series winner. That's about all I have to say about that.

check out espn.com for more info

Oh, and the U.S. mens soccer team beat South Africa over the weekend. There are signs for hope that our 2008 Olympic performance will be better than our 2006 World Cup performance.

Adam and Jeremy Say: I'll bear your gryll

The Discovery Channel announced that our favorite survivor specialist Mr. Bear Grylls is coming back for all new episodes of Man vs. Wild.

Despite the recent controversy surrounding the show, we are no doubt thrilled for his return and him showing us some of the craziest things a person can do to survive in the wilderness.


Here is what Discovery had to say:
"What do you do when facing a desert storm; you need to find shelter to escape probable death in 110-degree heat? How do you avoid some of the world's largest saltwater crocodiles in a Panamanian mangrove swamp? How do you navigate your way across the treacherous Patagonian ice fields, where one false step can pitch you into a deep crevasse? These are some of the deadly scenarios faced by adventurist Bear Grylls in the new season of Man vs. Wild.From the darkest jungles of Panama and the scorching sands of the Sahara to the treacherous rapids of the Amazon River the series follows him as he and his intrepid camera crew face some of the most extreme challenges in the most severe environments on earth. This is a series of tough challenging environments where having the right skills and knowledge can mean the difference between life and death."

Adam and Jeremy Say:We can't get enough D Webb

So all of you know that Derek Webb played a show this past Tues here in Asheville at the Grey Eagle. Well, it was nothing short of a really awesome(flash back to the 90s) time.

His wife Sandra McCracken opened the stage, and beyond her spectacular musical talent and good looks, her stage presence and cute personality set the mood for a great show. Derek also played amazing and his set was everything to be expected.

Beyond all that he announced some pretty interesting news from the stage in that a song off his new record The Ringing Bell will be featured on Grey's Anatomy tonight.

He mentioned ironically that the song '"Name" will probably play right after someone is having sex, during someone having sex, or immediately after someone having sex".

Never the less, he played it down that he although he will never actually have a "hit", this will be as close as it gets.

I've never been a huge fan of Grey's, but since 50% of my household can't miss an episode, I inevitably end up watching it, and I have always enjoyed the soundtrack. Now I will enjoy it even more.

Adam and Jeremy Say: Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo

Rolling Stone has finally plugged in with its first cover-to-cover digital edition to celebrate its 40th Anniversary. To navigate simply click to flip from page to page, similar to the page view function on Amazon.

Adam Says: I Have a Crush on Louis Stevens... Wait I Mean Alex Mac... Oh Great.

Louis Stevens drunk and disorderly? There is a shocker. Whats next Ren Stevens caught during a B&E? Go here to see the mug shot and read the whole story about Shia LeBeouf getting arrested for not leaving a Walgreens...

On a side note while researching Even Stevens I accidentally reignited a memory I probably long should have forgotten. Most of you don't remember the Secret World of Alex Mac, and rightly so but if you want to look it up on IMDb or Wiki it was on in the mid-nineties. However, most of you probably remember 10 Things I Hate About You, well Bianca in that movie is played by Larisa Oleynik who also happened to play Alex in the Secret World of Alex Mac... the point being when I was a Freshman in highschool I had a huge crush on Alex Mac... but until Shia LeBeouf got arrested for being drunk in a Walgreens causing me to look up info on his Nick tv show which in turn linked me to an article about the Secret World of Alex Mac I had completely forgot about my crush on Alex... and now that I am reminded... well it really doesn't seem like such a big deal.

Adam and Jeremy Say: Random Observation

In my experience the number one thing people say after using the restroom is:

"So I was just thinking..."

closely followed by:

"Listen to what I just read..."

Adam a Jeremy Say: Geek Alert

Take a look at the stars tonight to see the "once in a lifetime event".

The comet 17P/Holmes is apparently exploding and can seen more easily than usual.

Here is what the AP says about it:

"The comet is exploding and its coma, a cloud of gas and dust illuminated by the sun, has grown to be bigger than the planet Jupiter. The comet lacks the tail usually associated with such celestial bodies but can be seen in the northern sky, in the constellation Perseus, as a fuzzy spot of light about as bright as the stars in the Big Dipper.
'This is truly a celestial surprise,' Paul Lewis(director of astronomy outreach at the University of Tennessee) said. 'Absolutely amazing.'
Until Oct. 23, the comet had been visible to modern astronomers only with a telescope, but that night it suddenly erupted and expanded."

Adam and Jeremy Say: Darfur Now trailer

This movie came out in theaters this past weak. I don't know how much of a realistic view it gives to the situation, but it's media attention none the less, and we need to pay attention.
If yor prefer going to a concert over sitting in a theater, go to one of the "Rock for Darfur" shows around the country on Nov 10th. For those in Asheville, Colbie Cailat will be playing at The Orange Peel as part of this international the event

Adam and Jeremy Say: This List Should Get You Caught Up

The Richmond branch has been wasting way too much time with work and has not been spending enough time roaming the World Wide Web looking for nuggets to give you kiddies... we are sorry and plan to make it up to you with this numbered list of things you should care about.

1. The Office = Funny.

2. Doggy Birthday parties may sound like F-U-N, but a large group of adults standing around and watching a twelve pound dog eat a peanut butter cake is probably the scariest commentary I could ever make on our culture.

3. I bought the new Dashboard Confessional album (The Shade of Poison Trees)... you should as well.

4. I know Halloween has passed but this Christopher Walken mask is still the coolest thing ever.

5. The first "Best Albums of 2007" list has been made, and we do not approve.

6. Cake is coming to Richmond December 9... you may have to pawn your Wii to pay for the $30 tickets, but it will be sooo worth it... trust us.

7. I am stoked about the new Batman movie and this website is one of two reasons why (the other is Christian Bale of course.)

8. These are the best Christian albums ever? We think not... in fact that is really just obnoxious.

9. Turn the clocks back this weekend... just a friendly public service announcement.

10. Medieval Total War is like crack, but with out the paranoia and loss of appetite.

That should fix you up for now... later I may post about Children's Health Care or the Hypocrisy of Radical Right Wing Radio Host...